It is widely known that in the building and construction industry in the United States, falls are the leading cause of worker fatalities. On average each year between 150 and 200 workers are killed, and a staggering number of more than 100,000 workers are injured as a result of falls occurring at such building and construction sites. OSHA, the federal government agency that oversees labor and industry standards, has come to recognize that accidents are generally complex events that commonly involve a variety of factors. As a consequence, the standard for fall protection deals with both the human and equipment-related components in designing and implementing standards for protecting workers from fall hazards.
For example, in order to insure the protection of workers it is recommended that both employers and employees implement the following steps or procedures: 1) where protection is required, select fall protection systems appropriate for that situation; 2) use proper construction and installation of safety systems; 3) supervise employees properly; 4) use safe work procedures; and 5) train workers in the proper selection, use, and maintenance of fall protection systems.
More importantly, OSHA has developed specific rules, procedures and systems designed to prevent workers from falling off, onto or through working levels, and to protect workers from being struck by falling objects. These performance-oriented requirements facilitate the ability of employers to provide the mandated protection. The systems and procedures cover most construction workers except those inspecting, investigating, or assessing workplace conditions prior to the actual start of work or after all work has been completed. Areas or activities where fall protection is needed include ramps, runways and other walkways, excavations, hoist areas, holes, formwork and reinforcing steel, leading edge work, unprotected sides and edges, overhand bricklaying and related work, roofing work, precast concrete erection, wall openings, residential construction and other walking/working surfaces.
Under the above rules, systems and procedures employers are able to select fall protection measures and equipment that are compatible with the type of work being performed and the particular work site. Thus, fall protection systems and equipment can be provided through the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall arrest systems, positioning device systems, and warning line systems. While the aforementioned systems cover many situations, one critical problem is the current non-availability of any type of parapet-type safety and fall protection system that can be easily set up and attached to the wall surfaces of home or building structures that may be surrounded by uneven or un-level ground, especially uneven ground surrounding the eaves of the structure. It is often the case that a walkway is constructed on the site by carpenters using 2×4's and 2×6's that in many cases is the building material that should be used in the home construction, but is instead diverted to construct a hand-built, makeshift walkway prone to failure and accidents.
Despite the ingenuity of conventional systems and devices, there remains a need for a double sided fall arrest anchor featuring separate tie-off points to minimize risk of falls, and multiple configurations appropriate to different specific construction situations.